Grandma Kathleen's progress

My Reward System

I have come up with my own incentive program for losing weight and reaching goals. I have decided to reward myself every 5 lbs. starting after the first 15 lbs. lost.
I am at 10.2 pounds lost right now.

VICKY'S REWARD SYSTEM

15lbs- Spa Pedicure & Manicure
20lbs- Haircut (which I need soon!)
25lbs- Girl's night out
30lbs- I always wanted to get a professional spray tan...just a splash of color not oompa-loompa looking!
35lbs- Massage
40lbs- New Dress for Wedding to attend...maybe 2.
45lbs- Kameleon ring from Impressions
50lbs- Shopping Spree from Hubby, Part I!
55lbs- Shopping Spree from Hubby, Part II!
60lbs- A day at the spa...massage, facial, manicure, and pedicure! Ewwww sweet bliss!
65lbs- LONG weekend get-a-way with Hubby...maybe even a cruise!
65+lbs- switch gears on how to keep weight off...YMCA family membership would be awesome!

April's Fool...I mean food log ;)

So, I think I need to write down what I am eating to be held accountable. I don't know if I will do this everyday, but I plan on just adding to this post for the rest of the month instead of creating a new one everyday. Make sense? Probably not...I am rambling. I also got a new weight watchers scale....it is digital. I am not too sure on how correct or precise it is. I will weigh myself one minute and it will tell me a number and less than a minute later it will tell me something different. Sometimes up to almost a pound different. Any suggestions or is this normal with a digital scale? It measures pounds and even gives you up to a .2 difference. I think I have lost almost another pound. HURRAY!

April 1st Mood-Positve
skipped breakfast- NOT GOOD...I KNOW!
1 serving of naked juice
1 nonfat blueberry pomegranite yogurt
1 banana
4 oz. beef stir fry w/ about a tbsp. of sauce
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms
1 cup of rice
4 glasses of H20

April 2nd Mood-Tired and a bit hungry
3/4 cup Cinnamon honey bunches of oat
1/2 cup skim milk
1 apple
1 cup coffee
4 oz. Baked cod
1/2 stewed tomatoes and okra
3/4 bottle Sprite Zero
4 oz grilled chicken
1/2 cup green beans
2 croissants (weakness)
4 glasses of H20
shared an apple with my son before bedtime.

April 3rd Mood- HUNGRY, but positive!
8oz. glass of red grapefruit juice
3/4 cup Cinnamon honey bunches of oat
1/2 cup skim milk
1 small banana
1 chargrilled chicken salad with light raspberry vinegarette dressing
12 tortilla chips with salsa
1/2 chicken quesadilla with 1 tsp. of sour cream
1 diet coke
5 glasses of H20
1 pet light ice cream sandwich (140 calories..60% less fat...and yummy)

April 4th Mood- Suprisingly content and positive!
3 oz. grapefruit juice
1/2 cup total cereal with raisins
1/2 cup skim milk
1 Light fat free yogurt
1 cup coffee
Turkey and provolone sandwich on honey wheat (NO EXTRAS) :)
handful of pretzels
2 slices of ham & mushroom pizza
5 glasses H20
1 diet coke

April 5th Mood- happy it is saturday, but noticed I had a hard time NOT snacking!
2/3cup special K w/ strawberries
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 light ice cream sandwich
3-4oz beef tenderloin on bun
1 TBSP. barbecue sauce
2 baby pickles
1 serving baked lays
string cheese
Handful of grapes
4 glasses of H20

April 6th Mood- a bit guilty. I went to a baby shower and TRIED to be good!
Handful of grapes
1/2 chicken and cheese quesadilla
8 wheat thin crackers
2 Tbsp. of cheeseball
2 oz. of swiss cheese
1 cup of strawberries and pineapple
1 small chicken salad croissant
HERE GOES THE BAD THING....1 slice of this sinful chocolate cake with truffle in the middle. :(
1 bowl wonton soup
1/2 eggroll
3 crabmeat ragoons
6 glasses of H20 and NO SODA...hurray!

April 7th Mood-Tired, but I am looking forward weigh-in Wednesday
2 slices turkey bacon
2 slices whole wheat toast
1 pat of promise butter
1 large spinach and lettuce salad with little cheese
2 tbsp. balsamic vingarette
1 individual bag of pita chips with cinnamon
1/2 bottle sprite zero
1 open faced bun with small amount of sloppy joes
1 HUGE pickle
1 banana
6 glasses of H20

April 8th Mood Happy and Hungry
Nothing for breakfast....had to have bloodwork...drinking a H20 right now
6 inch turkey and cheese sub with tomato
1 bag baked lays
1 diet coke
4-5 oz. baked cod
1/2 cup cream spinach (the kind that is good for you)
1 light ice cream sandwich
handful grapes

April 9th Mood-Good!
wheat toast with egg beaters
slice of cheese
Turkey on wheat bread
sliced tomato
big salad with mandrian oranges and grilled citrus chicken
Fat free vinagerette
banana
small rice crispy treat
5 glasses H20

April 10 Mood- BUSY! BUSY!
2/3 cup honey bunches of oat
skim milk
3 soft chicken tacos with lettuce and tomato (should of only ate 2, but was hungry)
diet pepsi
1 grilled cheese on wheat
1 large pickle
2/3 cup chex mix (YUMMY)
4 glasses of H20

April 11th Mood- HAPPY....the scale finally budged a wee bit!!!
2/3 cup honey bunches of oat
skim milk
salad with grilled chicken. It had apples and cranberries in it.
1/2 cup strawberry ice cream
grahm cracker with peanut butter (snack attack)
2 slices of pizza
diet coke
3 glasses of H20 (need to boost this up!)

April 12th Mood- Worried/my baby is sick
no breakfast (BAD>>>BAD)
100 calorie rice crispie treat
Salmon Stew (hubby made with 2% milk)
5 saltine crackers
chicken cacciatore
4 H20
light ice cream sandwich

April 13th Mood- In a cleaning mood!
1 glass grapefruit juice
1 banana
slice of left over pizza
100 calorie rice crispy treat
california salad with grilled chicken (has strawberries, mandrian oranges, & pecans)
light greek vinegarette
2/3 cup chex mix
WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR A KLONDIKE BAR?4 H20(BAD)
diet orange soda

April 14th Mood- good and happy
1 cup honey bunches of oat
skim milk
1 coffee
2/3 cup chex mix
1 apple
3 small pancakes with sugar free syrup
a couple pats of smart balance butter
4 H20

April 15th Mood- not happy early in the day..
2/3 cup Honey bunches of oat
skim milk
coffee
turkey and cheese wrap with tomato
baked lays
8 wings....BAD BAD!
celery with blue cheese
4 H20
diet coke

Hello

This is my second blog, after my third one, I will stop counting for you guys. I'm sure it's annoying. Uh..let's see, I haven't been eating as much chocolate as I usually do, which is hard, given that I was born with a hershey bar in my hand. I LOVE CHOCOLATE> WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO BBBBAAAADDDDD!!!!!!!!!! AAGGHH! Okay much better. For those of you that don't know...I'm a S-M-O-K-E-R! Yes I said it. Hello my name is Kelly, and I'm a smoker. I have beening puffing for a year and a half now. I DO NOT feel good about it. So while this blog is about losing weight, it's also about regaining my life back. I'm trying to lose weight and try and stop smoking, which I have been told by my doctor is probably not the best way to go. Either try and lose weight first, or quit smoking. But don't do both at the same time. So hhmmm...smoke...or chocolate??? Should I really have to think about it. Yeah I do.

Drum Roll......

Okay..this is my first message on our blog. I have SO been dreading writing this. YIKES. I guess I should start about who I am and what I need to lose/gain? I'm 23 and work with Jenny and Vicky at a mom/baby boutique. I have been EXTREMELY overweight my whole life. I remember very vividly, weighing in at 204lbs, when I was in the 6th grade. I weighed more than my teacher! I've always struggled with my weight and have never found something I could stick with. I have tried Weight Watchers many times, but had to leave when I hit a plateau and the money wasn't coming in. One of the things that bothers me most about my weight is that I know for a fact it holds me back in what I do. A lot of times I won't go somewhere, or do something because I'm fat. Yuck..fat is such a nasty word. I'll use the words my moms uses to describe me, "Pleasantly Plump." Honestly, there's nothing plump about me, more roundish? Okay I'm off the topic. Anywho....I'm currently the biggest member of my family, immediate and otherwise. I think about my weight everyday, almost every second. I won't go into too much detail right now, since this is my first post. Maybe later.........

Here's to the first five!

My scale budged! Hoorah!

I'm excited to tell you the small changes I've made that worked for me, but first I have to say I had a little extra inspiration this week. My friend Bridgett, who is the epitome of class and has a very successful Mary Kay career did some spring cleaning in her expanse of a walk in closet. So, (envision me smiling and bouncing up and down) I got two trash bags full of cast off Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, and Ralph Lauren!! (even a 100 % cashmere sweater). I feel like I won the lottery. The only downside- a few of the items are a little snug. So I chuckled to see Jenny's post about the green pants... because I now have a pair of Banana Republic green capris I need to lose about 5 pounds to fit into.

Now down to business. Unlike Jenny, I am not very successful when I try to stick to a strict diet (Go Jenny for being able to though!) I find it's easier for me to get active and have a treat now and then. Here's what I've done the past few weeks that have made a difference for me.

1. I've started "running". 3 times a week when Dave gets home from work I'm waiting at the door suited up in my running shoes, an old t shirt, and some of Dave's Adidas swooshy pants circa 1995. So I begin clomping my way down my street (which is a pretty busy street in Clemson) all the while being passed by college chicks in spandex and college guys in well.. spandex.
This is the work out I do:
4 min walk ---> 1 min jog
3 min walk 2 min jog
2 min walk 3 min jog
1 min walk 4 min jog
5-10 min walk (cool down)
(I'd like to add that when I first started I was often passed by old women power walking while I "jogged")
I think it's important to remember that it is not all about speed or perfection. It's about getting out there, raising your heart rate, and feeling good about yourself. And it's not about pushing yourself too hard. If it works better for you to walk quickly for a few min then slowly, thats great!
I try to increase the difficulty of the "run" every few days and then sometimes I just need a day off to walk and clear my head. But, I always do a little victory dance at the end and congratulate myself for putting in the effort.

2. Pace yourself. Like Jenny said- its too hard to think "Oh I NEED to lose 40 pounds". It's a lot easier to say "Look, I've lost 2 pounds, I'm about halfway to my goal of 5. Yay me!".

3. Encourage yourself. I stuck post it notes around my mirror that say things like "You're beautiful." "You deserve to take care of yourself". I also made a collage of my fitness (and life) goals and hung it on my fridge. It has a picture of a girl at the beach in her swimsuit, another of a mommy and a baby and it says quotes I like and things I want to remind myself to do (take a walk, set a good example for Aiden...). I recommend this to everyone. It just makes you feel good.

4. Keep a food log. I have a gorgeous friend, Helen who is in fabulous shape, but she still keeps a food log, just so she can be conscience of what she eats. Even if you don't change a thing in your diet, I feel like just being aware of how much is going into your body makes a difference.

5. Reward yourself!!!! Now that I have lost 5 pounds, Dave and I got on the Victoria Secret website and ordered some hot (slightly more sexy than cotton briefs) new underwear.
But, I feel like I deserve a reward every time I finish a work out so, if I am able to run just a little bit faster or longer, or if I just do a really good job eating that day, I get on itunes and download a new song to work out to.
When you reach those big 5s or 10s, get a new dress (wink Vicky), a new shirt, or go get a friend to snap some up to date pics of your hot new look. (Then post them on here so I can see : ) )

6. I pod Groupie Love. I have found that listening to my I Pod really helps me to keep going. You can get new I Pods or any mp3 player at Wal-Mart. The shuffles are pretty cheap. The apple website also has certified refurbished I Pods that are very inexpensive.
Like I said, I reward myself with new songs which makes me excited about going for a jog so I can listen to them. You can also download books on tape and even videos on the new ones!

I am so excited to see and hear all of the good news about your weight loss missions! I hope these tips give you some encouragement. Thank you so much for all of your advice and support! We can do it!

The green pants

I got this pair of green pants for Christmas from my in-laws, and they didn't fit. They are a medium which is something I hadn't worn for a while. But I liked them and I didn't want to take them back because I knew I was losing weight. I stuck them in the drawer with tags still on and the receipt folded up inside them, vowing that I would wear them one day. Every week or so I'd try them on, and every time they were a little closer to fitting, until... YES! They fit! I have been wearing the pants for several weeks and have been meaning to blog about it. It meant a lot to me when I could fit into them.

Actually, I'd suggest this for everyone losing weight. Look in your closet and find a pair of pants (or a shirt or a dress) that almost fits you but is a little too tight. When it does fit it makes you feel like you accomplished something. It also helps you not obsess over the weight # which can be deceiving sometimes, keeps you focused on what you're working towards, and gets the message to your brain that you are in better shape. That's something I've struggled with; I know I am in better shape but sometimes I don't feel like I am. You may think the scale is broken, but your pants don't lie!

I'm sad to say I backslid a little over the past week. I was snacky and didn't make the best choices. Didn't lose any more weight but didn't gain it back either.

My goals are to:
1) Sit on the exercise bike and put my feet on the pedals once a day
2) Lose a pound before my next post!!!

I wouldn't want to get overwhelmed. I already got on the bike tonight and put my feet on the pedals, and once I'd gone to all that trouble I thought, I could pedal a little while. I ended up doing it for about 12 minutes and burning 100 calories! Tomorrow I might try putting on some shoes and walking out the door, and see where that takes me.

Holding steady at 140... (for now!)